


flower crowns

by feychella



Category: Not Another D&D Podcast (Podcast)
Genre: Flower Crowns, Fluff, M/M, Spring Fling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:40:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24770995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feychella/pseuds/feychella
Summary: Beverly finds out that Erlin never forgot the little details about him.
Relationships: Erlin Kindleaf & Beverly Toegold V, Erlin Kindleaf/Beverly Toegold V
Comments: 5
Kudos: 47





	flower crowns

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first NADDPOD fic! Minor spoilers through episode 99. 
> 
> anonymous on tumblr requested “63 and/or 100 for beverlin 🥺🥺”

He’d put off preparing and going home to Galaderon, in favor of staying with Hardwon as he guided the _S.S. Stormborn_ back home. Moonshine had tried to convince him to stay with her and Jaina, but he’d said no. He hadn’t seen Erlin in a while, not after Thiala, and honestly, he was nervous _. What are we now?_

Stepping off the _Stormborn_ , Beverly slings his bag over his shoulder. Hardwon claps a hand on Bev’s shoulder, speed-walking over to where Mama Toegold had set out sticky buns and stuffing them into his mouth. “Pace yourself!” Bev calls out, entering the halfling home that smelled like freshly baked bread and serenity. 

“Beverly? Bev, oh, it’s you!” Mama Toegold rushes over to her son and holds him close to her in a tight hug. “Are you okay? Where are Hardwon and Moonshine?” Her eyes crinkle with a familiar worry, the same expression she used to wear when Bev came home from Green Teen meetings late. _How the times have changed._

“They’re all right, Mom, we’re all okay.”

The oven lets out a pleasant _ding_ and she rushes back into the kitchen, patting her hands on her apron, hair already coming out of her loose bun. She flashes a smile at Beverly. “Why don’t you go find Erlin? I’m sure he’s walking around the woods or something. Check the Glades.” He swallows, giving her a tight smile and walks out of the house. Bev could hear Moonshine and Jaina preparing for tonight’s festivities, the smell of perfume and spices emanating from their room. He has other commitments though. Namely, finding an outfit and a date for tonight. _Everyone is expecting me to go with Erlin._

He sees an unmoving figure sitting in the glade below, dotted with wildflowers, staring towards the forest. _Erlin._ He could barely believe it, slipping down the hill and approaching the other boy’s turned back. Erlin’s eyes were closed, seemingly meditative. Beverly places a hand on his shoulder. “Erlin…” Erlin shoots to his feet, reaching for a sword that wasn’t at his hip, already in a combative stance. What had happened to their childhood? Bev stumbles backward, trying to mask his pain. _Did he not recognize my voice?_ “Sorry, I just thought-”

“Dude. You’re back!” Erlin steps forward a few feet before flinging his arms around Beverly’s neck. Bev pats the other halfling’s back hesitantly before fully embracing him as well. “I thought I wasn’t going to see you after, after-”

“No, me too, but I’m here now.”

“You’re here now.”

The two look at each other. Bev wasn’t sure where to start. There is so much he wants to say, but he clears his throat and looks away from Erlin’s face. “This is embarrassing, but I don’t have an outfit for tonight’s Jamboreen.” Erlin smiles and shoves him over.

“ _That’s_ why you were wearing that stupid face. Almost thought you were going to fall over,” Erlin says, sitting in the field again and picking up a loose circlet of flower stems. “I was, um, making a flower crown. Just like old times.”

“Just like old times.” Erlin hands Bev the started crown and he stands there, running his hand over the flower petals and getting lost in his own thoughts. 

It was the beginning of spring, the winter bite still hanging in the air, seven years ago. Bev’s parents had decided he should be a Green Teen, like his dad, and his grandfather before him. He wasn’t a big fan of the idea until he started. Until _Erlin_ started. They had had a competition to see who could get the most patches. Beverly never got his humor patch, mostly because Scoutmaster Denny didn’t understand any of his jokes, and mostly because after a while, he didn’t want it anymore. He enjoyed walking home with Erlin on those cold days, huddled together for warmth, and discussing their newest patches. Erlin would beam with victory as his number grew; after one of those walks, Beverly had decided that maybe Erlin’s smile was worth more than any humor patch. 

They had gotten their first patches together - making flower crowns - and Bev remembered how he’d struggled, frozen fingers numb, tears of frustration in his eyes. Small hands had taken the crown from him and started the circlet, guiding Bev’s hands through the process. He remembered how Erlin’s eyes were, warm and focused and how they’d made eye contact during the process. How his heart had fluttered when Erlin looked at him. They had made their first flower crown together, pastel pinks and lavenders floating around the two of them. Erlin moved to him first, putting the crown on his head feather-light and-

“Dude, you okay? You’ve been standing there for a long time.”

“Oh...yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking, you know. I mean, flower crowns are...cool.” _Did he remember?_ Bev studies the crown in his hands. Erlin had already started it for him. Sitting down, they weave flowers between sentences and vivid memories of Cran, Derlin, and the rest of the team. They talk about everything and nothing at once into the early evening.

“You bringing anyone special tonight? I know Moonshine and Jaina are going together, Hardwon’s flying pretty much solo...so-”

“No, I actually didn’t have anyone in mind.” Erlin looks at Bev, face hopeful, and he is falling back in time, transported to their very first Jamboreen. Shaking his head, he breaks out of the memory before he starts crying. The memory of his father’s angry face as he dragged Bev away from Erlin because _boys don’t dance together like that_ and _what would people think if they saw my son -_ no. He had hated that look on his dad's face, disappointed, the look on his mother's face, confused, tears in her eyes. _What had he done to break their hearts?_ To him, it was simple. He loved Erlin. He wanted to dance with the person he loved. He couldn’t afford to be ashamed anymore.

“ **We can...you know, go together, if you want.** ” Bev echoes the same sentence that he’d said all those years ago. By the way Erlin’s face darkened, Bev could tell he remembered that first Jamboreen too. Here was their chance to do it over again. Bev reaches over and takes his hand, squeezing it and hoping that Erlin would come back to him, out of his prison of memories, and into the fading sunlight of their new relationship.

“I...I’d like that. We should be getting back to your house, though. Bet your mom’s worried sick.”

“She always is.” Bev laughs, Erlin smiles, and he realizes that he’d do anything to keep that smile on his face for the rest of their lives together. Hand-in-hand, they walk back to Mama Toegold’s. Hardwon is still outside, munching on sticky buns; upon seeing Erlin, he stands up and hugs the halfling tight. “Be gentle with him, I just got him back!” Bev pries Erlin out of Hardwon’s arms and throws an arm around his shoulder. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready, Hardwon?”

Bev glances over Hardwon’s outfit. Black pants, white collared shirt, and an axe slung across his back. “Bev, you know me. I’m always ready to party,” Hardwon says, dancing around the garden. Laughing, Bev sweeps inside to see the Moonshine and her tall dwarven girlfriend. Moonshine is in a short red smock with knee-high boots, little mushrooms sewn into the sleeves and hem of her dress. Jaina has her arm around Moonshine’s waist and is in a crisp white suit, embroidered with golden leaves. They’re standing in the kitchen, talking to Mama Toegold. The chatter of halflings outside on their way to the glades rises outside the window as Beverly buttons up his navy suit jacket. 

“You missing something?” Erlin hugs him from behind and delicately places his flower crown on Bev’s head. Reaching over to the dresser, Bev twists around and puts his crown on Erlin’s. They look into the floor-length mirror, eyes warm and full of love.

“Thank you.” It comes out in a whisper. “For everything.” 

“Of course.” Erlin knew, then, what he was trying to say. Bev's heart swelled with appreciation. _Someone who understands what I'm trying to_ say. “We should head over to the glade.”

“I think you're right. Wouldn't want to keep the others waiting.”

Moonshine throws Bev a wink as they walk together towards the glade. Mavrus is there too, lighting floating lanterns and levitating them over the glade in the moonlight. He waves at them and Hardwon picks him up in a bear hug. The two drink the night away, beer mugs piling up around them. Jaina and Moonshine sit on a picnic blanket at the edge of the glade, talking quietly and sharing crick wine in champagne glasses. _Everyone looks so happy_ , muses Beverly. He glances over at Erlin, face lit up by the lanterns and eyes full of hope for the future. Bev offers his hand and Erlin takes it smiling. They do a few box-steps to the fiddle before Erlin throws his arms around Beverly and hugs him like a lifeline.

Some things would never change, like how Hardwon always had his axe nearby, and how Moonshine still sporesed people if they snuck up on her. _What an honor._ How Erlin would jump to his feet and try to kick you if you patted his back. Egwene slept with her bow and arrows nearby, tossing and turning restlessly. Bev relived his worst memories at night, his amulet and sword still in his dresser drawer, waking up at the slightest _bump_ in the night, in case he needed to protect those he loved. _What an injustice._ War had changed them. There would be time to talk about everything that had happened, but tonight Beverly just wanted to spend time with Erlin, feeling young and innocent again. The two of them stand in the center of the glade after their dance, staring up at the lanterns and holding each other’s hands. 

“I’m glad I asked you to come with me.”

“Me too.”

Erlin kisses Bev on the forehead and Bev rests his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder, heart warming. They sit together in the grass, utterly in love, and eternally each others.


End file.
